Shakespeare said that a pen is stronger than a sword, but if you’ve learned how to use a pen, you still may be a long way far from becoming a new Shakespeare. If you want to write great essays, you may need inspiration and nice writing technique. However, this task isn’t so hard if you know some basic principles of essay writing. Most often, you just need to go through five simple steps, so now we will talk about five paragraph essays.
Of course, there are many complicated types of essays, but if you’re a student of a university or high school, you will most often get five paragraph essays assigned. These essays consist of five sections:
This structure was proven to be the easiest for readers, since it provides the easy perception of information, navigating through ideas and arguments. Generally, your main goal is to make readers understand you, and get all necessary facts.
The main purpose of such a section is to introduce your key thought (thesis statement). You have to describe your thesis at the very beginning, since the whole essay, with all its arguments, will be based on it, explaining and supporting your idea. However, this is not the only purpose of the introduction. A good introduction begins with a “hook”. The hook is a very first sentence of your essay, and it must grab your readers’ attention, motivating them to read more. It may be a quote from a well-known expert, an extraordinary fact, or even an anecdote.
Even though it’s the shortest part of your essay, we suggest you paying special attention to it, since it determines the success of your paper. Once you hooked your readers, get right to the thesis statement. Make sure that your position on the considered issue is clear and leaves no doubts.
The introduction must also give your readers a hint on how you’re going to support your key statement. It will help readers understand your approach and become more familiar with your topic.
The introduction ends with a transitional sentence, which connects your introduction with the body of the essay. Make sure that your introduction isn’t more than three sentences long. It shouldn’t be too long, and you don’t have to write some specific information in this section. If your introduction is longer than three sentences, take your time and edit it. You surely will be rewarded with readers’ reaction.
Here we made an example of the introduction. This introduction may be a beginning of the essay devoted to the topic “How we learn from mistakes”:
People never change? If so, it’s really sad. Most of us are influenced by our own actions and life experience; analyzing our mistakes, we may learn even more than enjoying our success. To prove this point, we will consider scientific facts and everyday situations.
Do: Write your introduction carefully, since it creates the first impression of your entire essay. This section describes your point on a topic and also explains how you will work with such an issue. Don’t hurry up, take your time and spend extra effort on the introduction.
Don’t: Don’t write in the first person, and avoid the use of passive voice. Remember that active voice sounds a lot more convincing, and it also attracts more attention. “The book sells everywhere” sounds more powerful than “the book is sold everywhere”. Along with this, don’t use personal pronounces (I, me, my) – it sounds too subjectively.
The body of the essay is the main part. Here you can consider your topic in more detail, and write all your arguments.
Given that you write a five paragraph essay, the body of the essay should consist of three paragraphs. Devote first body paragraph to the strongest argument. We suggest starting from the idea that is directly related to the introduction. In other words, if you mentioned a certain fact in your brief outline at the beginning, start with this fact.
Don’t make your paragraphs too short. For example, you shouldn’t just mention a name of a certain writer who wrote about this issue, expecting your readers to get your thought right. You have to express your thoughts in detail, explaining how such evidence supports your thesis statement. Along with this, you have to explain why such evidence is relevant.
Your examples should be tied to the context. If you’re writing about a certain person, you must clarify what exactly is related to your topic. For example, if you’re writing about Abraham Lincoln, you must take into account how complex was his life. Maybe you want to write about his contribution to the abolition of slavery? Or maybe you want to consider his personality or his life before the presidency?
Once again, you have to make sure that your example supports your thesis statement. Explain how this evidence illustrates your point, and pay special attention to this, since it’s the main reason why you include such information in your work. Let’s see an example of the body paragraph. It’s based on the example of the introduction above:
A good example of learning from mistakes is a story of Thomas Edison. Of course, we know him for his successes in science and business, but these successes would be impossible without hundreds of mistakes. One of his most significant inventions, Edison’s lightbulb, had more than a thousand variations. Edison himself wrote that he didn’t consider all these attempts fails. In his opinion, he just discovered a thousand ways the incandescent bulb wouldn’t work. Thus, he was able to find the only right construction that turned out to be successful.
Do: Keep sentences related to each other. First of all, write transition sentences between different arguments, it will simplify reading significantly. Ideally, the entire body part of your essay must have an idea that goes through all the sentences, connecting your thoughts, and creating a holistic picture that can be easily perceived by readers.
Don’t: Don’t be too general. Your arguments must be related to the thesis statement, explaining particular features of your topic. Don’t expect that your readers will understand your point after reading a few words that you consider a “well-known fact”. We also suggest not including unnecessary information. For example, if you’re writing about the role of Abraham Lincoln in the abolition of slavery, don’t write about his childhood or private life.
The common feature of good essays is transitional constructions. Use such phrases as “moreover”, “on the other hand”, “furthermore”, and so on.
These transitions help your readers understand where one sentence ends, and another sentence begins. It also gives a reader a short pause between arguments, so your essay won’t be too boring, and your readers will be able to perceive new information naturally.
Let’s take a look at the second paragraph of the body:
Obviously, we all are in a sense like Thomas Edison. Every time we have to master a certain skill (driving, painting, cooking, etc.), we go through many mistakes, to learn how to make it right. Of course, some people are able to go from the theory right to the successful result, but these are exceptions rather than a rule. We cannot cook a tasty pie without smashing a few eggs, so the whole process of learning is a sequence of mistakes that turn into experience.
This is an example of a good body paragraph, and it also illustrates how you can use transitions.
Even though it’s the last part of the essay, it shouldn’t be considered a separated part. It still must be devoted to your topic, and tied to the thesis statement.
A fun fact is that the conclusion is somewhat similar to the introduction – these two sections have a lot in common. Just like the introduction, this part is short, and it’s able to either make your essay great or break it.
This paragraph should begin with a transition phrase, which is a peculiar “hook” of the conclusion. This phrase leads to your thesis statement, since you have to remind it once again, in order to help your readers bring all arguments together.
Generally, you may repeat your thesis statement four or five times, so make sure that you don’t use the exact same words every time. You should repeat your ideas in different words, not copying your own sentences over and over again. The conclusion is also a good place to remind your strongest arguments.
At the end of the essay, write a sentence that pushes your readers to action, or explains how your thoughts may be used.
In the end, we see that mistakes help us learn and improve our skills. There are many examples in science and everyday life that show us how important mistakes are. The main thing is not to consider each mistake as a fail. Mistakes can teach us more than successes, being steps on the way to improvement.
Do: Be strong. Your conclusion must be brief and persuasive, so it may be not an easy task. However, we suggest taking your time and take this task as serious as possible, since it’s your last chance to make your readers agree with you. You have to be confident. If you think that your arguments are obvious, make sure that every reader will think so.
Don’t: Don’t write the same words again and again. Although the conclusion must express the same ideas as the introduction, make sure that these parts of the essay don’t sound the same. Show how good your writing skills are.
Generally, the structure of the essay looks like this:
Body Paragraph 1
Plan your work. Even if you have too little time, and want to write the whole essay right now, we suggest taking your time and prepare. Planning your essay, you are able to find the best arguments instead of writing the first things that come to your mind.
Determine which idea is the most familiar to you. If you know a lot about a certain thing, write about it first. The success of the entire essay depends on how you sort your ideas by importance.
Try not to repeat yourself word for word. Add some variance, and use your writing skills.
If you’re writing about wealth, you can also say “prosperity”, or “welfare”. At the same time, try not to use obvious constructions that consist of a subject, verb, and a direct object. Creativity takes more time, but you’ll be rewarded for your effort.
It’s almost impossible to write a perfect essay from the very first time. You may read this article and feel confident, but don’t forget that theory always looks easier than practice.
Try to write more. Choose topics that are simple for your, try to make the proper structure, taking into account all our tips. You’ll see how your skills improve with each new essay, and you’ll easily write an essay on any topic when the time comes.
Teachers often try their students with writing some papers. This way they want to check what knowledge the latter have got. If you receive an assignment to write an essay, we would like to give you some tips how to do it right.
First of all, you should collect all the relevant information on a subject. You can look for it on the internet. Start writing with a thesis statement, that is, an idea of your essay. For that you should have some background knowledge.
Study one of good essays so that you know how a paper should be structured and written, that is, introduction, body, conclusion etc. Of course, you should not copy that paper but write your own.
You may have many thoughts, but you cannot write them all down. You should choose one idea and put it in the thesis statement that you are going to develop and support throughout the whole text.
When you know what and how to write, you save a lot of time. The introduction and thesis statement go first, of course. But do not hurry and at first make an outline. It looks like a table of contents, but it helps to move on in your writing. You will know when you need an argument and evidence. Therefore, your essay will be smooth.
In the body you explain and prove or deny the idea mentioned in the introduction. Overall, an essay should not be too big. A few paragraphs will be fine. You should always get straight to the point so the paper is concise and understandable. If your essay appears to be long, make it shorter. People don’t like long reads.
Check other essays on the same subject for the titles if you don’t make up with your own. This way you can see what the reader might want to read.
Mind that the conclusion should not have any examples. You summarize what you have already been said and prove your main idea.
If you’re going to write a grant proposal, it means that you’re dealing with valuable research or feel passionate about developing a community resource. Perhaps, you have a clear understanding of how something can be improved so you’re looking for funding to make your vision come true.
While developing your grant proposal, you shouldn’t be afraid to use your imagination. Grant proposal writing is a creative process, so it’s not that different from fiction writing. We recommend that you approach this task with excitement, thinking of how your ideas will become real. Your idea is great, and you can achieve your goal. All you have to do is convince others and make them as excited about your idea as you are. Check out this guide from Paper Due Now to write an outstanding grant proposal.
We are going to provide you with some tips on how to approach your grant proposal and to plan it properly. We recommend that you consider the overall purposes of your grant proposal, the audience, and expectations, to make sure that your information will be applicable in different contexts. Nevertheless, the general approach implies certain limitations. First, you need advice tailored to your particular field of study. Secondly, you should follow certain instructions and your proposal must meet the requirements of the granting agencies.
Talk to mentors, professors, and people who have received grants already. We also recommend that you contact the funding group or agency you’re applying to and find reliable advisors to understand what your grant proposal should look like. Any feedback is valuable.
Before writing the grant proposal itself, we suggest that you:
Once you’ve done everything from the list above, write the first draft of your proposal.
You can visit a library at your university and learn all you need to know about granting institutions, grant proposal writing, and grants, in general. We also recommend that you visit the official website of your university and search for useful resources.
A grant proposal is a straightforward and clear document intended for a particular funding agency or organization. The main goal is to persuade your audience to provide you with support. To do it, you should demonstrate that you are responsible and have a detailed plan.
When planning your grant proposal and writing your draft, ask yourself the following questions.
Usually, grant proposals have several distinct sections. The titles of the sections depend on specific guidelines of a certain organization. However, they usually serve the same functions. In the list below, we consider some of the common elements of grant proposals and their purposes, along with tips that will help you write these sections successfully. We also recommend that you use the headings defined by the call for proposals and follow the grant’s guidelines.
Some granting organizations may also require you to specify the amount of funding that you need. Build your abstract around the purpose and mission of your project. A good approach is to include the main concepts and terms from the organization’s mission statement. Although your abstract or summary is the first section of your grant proposal, we recommend that you write it last. It will be easier for you to write a short overview when all the other sections are ready.
Some of these questions focus on the impact of your project. The impact is especially important because the funders want to see the real benefits of your project and understand how they can evaluate your achievements.
Mind the agency’s key interests
If the call for proposals or the funding organization’s mission contains keywords, try to use these terms in your own proposal. However, don’t try to use as many keywords as you can. The main point is to help your audience understand the connection between their purpose and your project.
Use numbered lists to organize ideas
Quite often, people use numbered lists to organize the key ideas within a proposal. You may start such a list with phrases like “This plan involves the following stages…” or “The main goals of this project are…” The use of numbers allows you to present your information efficiently, making your proposal easy to comprehend.
Write customized proposals
Looking for grant funding involves certain competition so you may apply for several grants from different funding agencies. If you choose this approach, make sure that your proposal responds to specific expectations, interests, and guidelines of each agency. We recommend that you never use the same proposal over and over again. In addition, if you’re applying to several sources at the same time, you should think strategically, clearly understanding what kind of support you need from every organization. For example, do your research and determine which source is more likely to cover the cost of personnel, and which will likely support your request for materials.
Don’t reject small grants
Both big grant opportunities and small grant opportunities are important and can be useful. Moreover, if you’ve already found a smaller grant, it might increase your chances to get a larger grant. If a couple of stakeholders have already supported your project, it will increase your credibility.
Never give up and write more
Writing a grant proposal is difficult because you need to carefully analyze your vision and approach your solution critically, responding to a certain problem or gap. Even experienced grant writers often face rejections. Nevertheless, if you keep writing, you’ll be able to justify your objectives and to determine the most productive methods. The more you write about your project, the better you understand what the grant committee is looking for. In addition, even if you’ve already received a grant, it doesn’t mean that the writing should stop. There are many grants that require you to provide updates and reports on a regular basis, so you should be ready for it.
The most effective way to learn how to write grant proposals is to check out good samples. We decided to provide you with an example of a successful proposal and we encourage you to analyze it so that you know what to focus on and what makes a strong proposal. You can also look for more samples on the internet, understanding what are the most persuasive and effective writing techniques.
| Name | |
| Student ID Number | |
| Phone | |
| Email address | |
| Madison Address, Zip | |
| Department(s) | English Department |
| Intended Degree | PhD |
| Year in Program (bold one) | MA student|PhD student|Dissertator |
| Anticipated Graduation Date | Spring 2019 |
| Proposed Title of Your HEX Project | This Is My Home: Housing Issues in Madison |
| Community Partner (if known) | Tenant Resource Center |
The population of Madison represents only 48% of the overall county’s population while including 73% of the county’s low-income households, which means a tremendous need for affordable housing. There are thousands of families whose housing is being put at risk. What resources do they have? My proposed project, “This Is My Home: Housing Issues in Madison,” will partner with the Tenant Resource Center to serve as a platform for people whose lives are affected by the current situation with housing in Madison, creating a series of podcasts and aiming for the development of new ways of communicating tenant rights.
Next year, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Go Big Read will host several events dedicated to Matthew Desmond’s Evicted. Given the issue of housing justice, I consider my project a connection between the Madison community and the University. My project will provide information on Madison housing regulation, rights, and development in the form of interviews with activists, legislators, and community members, which focus on low-income neighborhoods. Five podcast segments will address issues highlighted in Evicted in the context of individual experiences and Madison politics. The series of podcast segments will be hosted on a web page that will also include a forum and informational resources. The TRC described this project as “exciting,” because it allows for speaking to a wider audience. My main goal is to help people who face systematic inequalities of the housing system and to let them share their experiences so that the community can better understand the problem. The idea of this project is to ensure a better understanding of other people’s experiences while also informing the audience about how policies are enforced.
This project aims to engage different types of audience. I’ve conducted interviews with people whose lives have been affected by housing policy, focusing on such issues as accessibility and affordability. I hope that their voice will help to illustrate the issues these people are dealing with and the circumstances that prevent them from accessing affordable housing.
Every episode of the podcast will focus on one family or person whose story will be complemented by other interviews from people who have the same experience or knowledge of this subject. These interviews will illustrate Madison’s housing history in the broader context. The series of podcasts will also include interviews with TRC staff members who understand the regulatory and legal issues associated with tenants rights. One of the goals of this project is to highlight the administrative structure and to encourage collaboration among different levels of administration. This project will also help the TRC communicate with tenants who otherwise wouldn’t call the Center for counseling.
As a volunteer, I can access the communities. The cases handled by TRC staff will serve as the basis for interviews with people who are at risk. Fieldwork research and my collaboration with Professor Revel Brown have allowed me to summarize the available information on Madison housing and key figures in governmental and non-profit sectors.
Conducting the necessary number of interviews will require a lot of time and effort. However, I have already established good relationships with researchers and community members. Given the fact that I’m already working at the TRC, it will be easier for me to gain the trust of people who need housing assistance to interview them. I am aware of the risks associated with interviewing people who speak out against the abuse of power and my goal is to establish trust by demonstrating respect for the privacy and a commitment to community-based work.
I’m going to spend 3 hours a week as a housing counselor, improving my understanding of housing law and the mission of the TRC. In addition, I will spend 2 to 4 hours a week conducting interviews and working with the raw material. The interviews will be conducted at the Center or another community location, as well as over the phone. I have the necessary experience in video and sound editing, which allows me to produce a high-quality piece. At the same time, this is a time-consuming process so I anticipate that the editing process will take a few weeks.
I’ve contacted Madison 365 — a website that mostly focuses on Madison’s communities of color to make sure that they will include my short segments in their own podcast. In addition, every episode I produce will be available on a website provided by UW and distributed with the help of the Go Big Read project, along with the TRC website and local media. Longer segments are intended for nationally distributed podcasts.
I’m going to evaluate the success of the project depending on its reach, analyzing the traffic on websites. However, I think that the success of the project is determined not only by the number of people who hear the podcast. While working at the TRC, I realized that people not only want to be informed about their rights but also to be heard. Understanding that there is someone who wants to listen to them will help these people fight the feeling of helplessness. Providing a platform for these people is one of the most important goals of my project. I hope that it will improve communication between people with the same experiences who faced similar issues and who are looking for structural changes. To better understand the investment of participants and their access to the podcast, I will provide a brief questionnaire.
I am looking for a two-semester grant. As I already have communication with community partners established, I am going to prepare the project this summer and to start it this fall, to coordinate with the Go Big Read. I believe the distributing their production over the course of two semesters will help improve the quality and depth of the project, while also improving our understanding of Madison’s housing system.
Summer:Coordinate with Revel Brown’s urban planning class to establish a network of potential interviewees and to collect the necessary information on Madison housing regulation. Conduct research.
Examine recent methodologies.
Brainstorm on themes for segments.
Coordinate with the TRC.
Early Fall: Conduct interviews.
Mid-October: First podcast segment.
Early December: Second podcast segment; distribute questionnaires.
Early Spring: Conduct interviews.
Late February: Third podcast segment.
Early April: Fourth podcast segment; distribute questionnaires.
Mid-May: Final longer segment.
As a graduate student, I have gained knowledge of the conditions of racial disparities, poverty, and systematic inequalities common among the communities that surround the university. I volunteered as a counselor for Community Justice, Inc., a law firm in Madison. I have experience in working with individuals that need legal assistance for civil and criminal issues. At that time, I became interested in housing problems in Madison, and this experience pushed me to volunteer at the TRC to focus on the housing issues. I have established good relationships with the executive director and the campus programming coordinator. I am familiar with the networks of government agencies and non-profit organizations assisting low-income families and individuals, which allows me to analyze Madison’s housing structure.
I also worked as an instructor at the Oakhill Humanities for three years, which helped me better understand the specifics of public humanities programming.
My main research interests lie in queer theory and LGBTQ cultural history. My dissertation investigates how socially vulnerable populations build their identities, relations, and affiliations. I consider this project an opportunity to explain different configurations of supportive alliances while using my previous research to illustrate structural inequality. My minor coursework focuses on the language of disciplinarity and its impact on academic research. I hope that this grant will help me illustrate common problems, using the first-person narrative to explain issues surrounding housing crisis in Madison.
Analyzing previous HEX projects, I paid particular attention to Rebecca Summer and Garrett Nelson’s “Goodman to Garver: Stories of Place on Madison’s East Side.” Their work focuses on a particular neighborhood, which inspired me to narrow my scope. I will also take into account their work to interpret Madison’s housing crisis.
This project has been heavily influenced by ProPublica’s model of journalism, and Nikole Hannah-Jones’ coverage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, in particular.
Analyzing the relationship between public activism and humanities research, I have been interested in Housing Works, a non-profit from New York City. Their center includes studio space and bookstore. This is not only a business model but also an attempt to make sure that the target audience, including people who suffer from HIV/AIDS, have the necessary resources and can access a community space, sharing their experiences related to housing problems. I hope that my project will be a starting point for an online community space that represents vulnerable communities of Madison.
If you have a thesis statement, it doesn’t mean that you’re prepared to write your essay. You should clearly understand what this essay will look like and what are your key points. This is where an outline comes in handy. Outlining your essay can help you make sure that your writing will be logical and complete, with no repetition and gaps.
Another reason to write an outline is that it can help you manage your time efficiently. Just break down your essay into sections, and write a draft for every section within a certain period of time. Keep in mind that the introduction might take a lot of time to write, so we recommend that you write it when the rest of your essay is ready.
Planning and outlining are not the first steps of the writing process. First of all, you should decide on the length of your assignment. You may have many interesting ideas, but before you write an outline, you should decide how many ideas you’re going to include in your essay and which of them are the most important ones. For instance, if you need to write a 1,000-word essay and you have five main arguments, it means that you should cover every argument in 150 words. Think of whether this amount of words is enough to tell your readers everything that you consider important.
Your arguments should be equally relevant to your topic and equally developed. therefore if you feel that you will need 400 words for one argument but you won’t be able to write more than 150 words for another, we recommend that you get rid out the unnecessary argument.
To make sure that you’re ready to write your outline, take a look at this checklist. Do you have everything you need?
This is an example of an outline written using the linear style. Here, all the points are sorted by importance. You should consider your arguments in relation to your topic and write a bulleted or numbered list. You can check out a formal structure with numbers and letters, below.
As you can see, the subgroups are indented to the right. Therefore, as you move to the right, the ideas get more specific. This is an effective and easy way to organize your essay visually.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to write complete sentences at this stage. All you have to do is shut down your key ideas and plan the overall structure of your essay. The best outline is the one that allows you to read it and summarize your essay so that somebody who is completely unfamiliar with the topic can understand you.
If your audience can naturally follow your arguments, it means that you’ve created a successful outline and now you can start writing your first draft. If people have any questions, you may want to develop your outline. Perhaps, some of your arguments are not connected logically, or you may need to clarify something. Keep in mind that your audience may not be as familiar with your topic as you are, so make sure to provide the necessary background information.
We prepared an outline for a persuasive essay with a thesis statement, three main arguments, and supporting evidence. Every paragraph starts with a topic sentence to make sure that your readers will understand you clearly. You can also take a look at this outline and quickly understand what arguments have the most support, and what may need some development.
In the example below, you can see a common essay structure. There are three arguments that support the thesis with evidence. The structure moves from more general points to the more specific ones. However, some essays are written using different approaches. In addition, your essay may include more than three parts, depending on the type of assignment and the topic.
Thesis statement: Downloading music without permission is stealing.
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